An “open wound” for the global petrochemicals market is the tariff policy of the United States, which is still trying to recover from the pitfalls of the last five years.
Specifically, at the APPEC conference, industry executives focused on the strong impact of U.S. tariffs on the petrochemicals sector, which is simultaneously undergoing a restructuring phase due to the shift in Chinese exports. It is worth noting that petrochemicals trade has seen a 34% decline over the last five years, due to excess production capacity.
In this context, the head of petrochemicals at TotalEnergies, Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, stated: “If the tariffs remain in effect, petrochemicals trade will see a further 15% decline.”
For his part, the executive vice president of Haldia Petrochemicals, Sanjiv Vasudeva, pointed out that tariffs are increasing countries’ levels of protectionism. “It is now difficult to plan investments in the short term, due to excess capacity and market instability,” Vasudeva stressed. At the same time, he focused on the Indian market, which he characterized as the “only bright spot” of the global petrochemicals industry.
Finally, Bahrin Asmawi, CCO of Petronas Chemicals Group, focused on China. According to Asmawi, U.S. tariffs are pushing Chinese petrochemical products into Asian markets, a shift that is disrupting the smooth functioning of the global petrochemicals market.
